Ben Reiter

Mary T. Eaker
UWRT 1104
22 November 2016
Studio Activity 5 Revision
Writing In My Major
Major: Biomedical Engineering:
Two different types of writing:
Speech, this would generally be useful when presenting evidence gathered from research
at conferences. It would typically be in front of a poster or other medium through which
information may be presented such as a powerpoint or video presentation. The other genre of
writing would be the lab report itself. This would generally consist of an abstract, purpose,
prediction, methods, results, and a conclusion.
Speech questions answered:
The purpose of a speech would generally be to present information gathered from ones
research. This could come at various levels. The smallest of which would be a local conference
where one only presents to their peers and would eventually expand to a large media outlet such
as a TED talk. For undergraduate presentations, the roles would likely be the same if one were
professional. The only difference would be the scale and audience to which the information is
presented. Another difference would be that as an undergraduate one would likely receive help or
resources that would likely force one to attribute their findings to the professor that assisted
whereas a professional would likely secure their own resources and be the sole proprietor of the
information.

The layout for a speech would generally consist of a question or what lead the person to
find their purpose, followed by a prediction, methods, results, and a conclusion.
The purpose, or what lead the researcher to begin their inquiry along with the conclusion
are the two most substantive parts of the speech. The prediction and methods are only mentioned
to introduce the results. Since the results are the most important part of experimentation, they
receive the most attention.
The format for a speech would generally differ based on the form of presentation. For
example, for example, a powerpoint would differ from a TED talk which would differ from a
spoken word speech. The format depends entirely on the medium through which the information
is presented. A powerpoint would likely include citations, pictures, and other forms of evidence
to add to the authors point. A TED talk would likely not include citations but rather references to
the individual from whom the information was gathered. Pictures, videos, and graphs would be
used to visually aid the presenter while he went through his purpose, prediction, methods, results,
and conclusion.
While personal experience would not be acceptable at a formal academic conference, in a
medium such as a TED talk personal stories are often what lead to ones inquiry. This is the grey
area where different forms of speech have different conventions.
Sentence structure is irrelevant in speeches unless the speaker cannot articulate their
argument effectively.
A lab report would likely be used when one will submit their work to a publication or
journal. For example, at UNC, they publish all of their researchers findings in a monthly release
which shows all of the publications from all researchers at a university. These publications would
likely be made up of new inquiries into new concepts, this differs from working as an

undergraduate because the work done in a lab report would likely be based off of work that has
already been done. This would typically be done in a lab research class as a formal assignment.
While undergraduates are capable of publishing their own work, it is not common.
The layout of a lab report is fairly simple. If one were to submit to a formal publication,
their layout would likely resemble an abstract, or summary of their findings and methods,
purpose, prediction, methods, results, and conclusion. One would generally want to avoid any
irrelevant information. Scientific writing is generally free of fluff or any personal details.
In a formal academic publication, all elements of a lab report are given equal importance
in the write-up. The most important piece of information, however, is generally the abstract.
Since most people generally do not read the entire paper, they are inclined to only read the
abstract to get a sense of the methods and findings in the authors inquiry.
The tone is typically informative and would avoid the use of any personal pronouns. As
previously mentioned, formal essays are typically void of any metaphors or humor.
Sentences should simply be enough to describe the process the author went through to
find what he states in his conclusion. They may vary in structure but are always as concise and
unambiguous as possible so as not to confuse the reader evaluating their work.

Extra Credit:
I didnt interview a professor, but I did ask someone who is involved in the field in which I am
currently interested. My Surgeon, Allan Peljovich, who has operated on me several times, is an
orthopedic surgeon based in Atlanta, Georgia. Here are his answers.
1. What types of writing are you expected to do?

When I first came out of residency in the early 2000s, histories and patient records were
in large, complicated folders that often left information missed or not easily found. The addition
and implementation of the EHR (Electronic Health Record) has made documenting patient's
symptoms, vital statistics, history, and plan of action much easier to keep track of. Since I am
heavily involved in research I submit my work to many different orthopedic publications so that
others may be aware of my methods and results of different treatments on patients. Having
access to others work improves quality of care for all patients in the United States so publishing
as frequently as possible is important for advancing the field of medicine.
2. What genres are the most important in your field?
The most common genre for my field of work [Academic Medicine] is abstracts or
formal publications.
3. What are the features of the genre?
Abstracts are fairly simple, They normally state the purpose, methods, and a results in a
relatively small amount of text. A formal write-up will consist of a purpose, prediction, methods,
results, and a conclusion. The tone is purely objective and informal. Any fluff in academic
publications is not only useless, but distracting.
4. What is considered good writing in that major and what is valued?
Any inquiry that advances the field of medicine is highly valued because in an age where
digital media is so easily accessible any contributions made by anyone in the world can quickly
be adopted by others. This global adoption improves outcomes and quality of care for all
patients. Meta-analyses are also highly valued because they combine the findings of different
publications to create new conclusions not through newly gathered evidence, but instead through
pattern recognition in different findings.